There is a new arrival in town. The newcomer hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to townsfolk, but it's in her very nature to seek out others. It is all she is; after all, a mirror that has no-one to look into it is useless. Very open and adaptable, she just wants friends that are willing to stick by her and let her stay around.
All the while, strange things happen all around as a pony appears to be able to trot anywhere he or she darned well pleases and go out and disappear without trace. Other than being dramatic and presenting him or herself as a master of disguise and a 'Magical Phantom Thief', he or she doesn't seem to steal anything of value, if at all... although the escapes tend to attract attention.
And he or she is tired of repeating the same phrase. Regardless of how strange, quick, or impossible the changes seem he or she is not a changeling.
And there is another player, looking for a traitor to her trust... but why is it so important to protect her associate from that traitor if they are going into the fray? And why explicitly exclude "the ponies"? Other than that it's obvious she's not one herself.
What's the relation? Is she working with the thief that can't seem to decide on a name? Against? Or are they all friends? One thing is certain; those who look close enough cannot help but see either a piece of their own reflection, or the gaping maw of the abyss.
As a small reminder: This was planned well before the end of the second season... in fact, I already had a large chunk of the key events down by the time "Smile Smile Smile" got leaked.
Gemini is actually an old character concept I had, from before the ponies.
Still, given the EoS, I had to make a few adjustments to the story, and got a little bonus inspiration too!
(The only problem is that this chapter turned out rather... weak by the second half, sorry! I'll make it up to you!)
I know Dash is implied to have been kicked out for being lazy, but her work ethic appears to be an impressive one! Sure, she naps a lot, but I've got the feeling that even if she wasn't all that thrilled with school she would not just let her grades go.
Nopony can call Rainbow Dash a failure.
Still, I wouldn't be surprised if she dashed through the door in the nick of time a couple hundred times because a nap almost ran too long for the teacher's liking.
Sorry it took this long, but the scenes went through many, many rewrites. Originally, the hospital was going to be much shorter and in a single piece... however, Celestia insisted on being the nice, compassionate ruler and checking up on everyone and being overall responsible and understanding.
Also, about the dragon? She means over-reliance on their natural talents and such. Nullify their breath weapon and out-maneuver them and it's easier. She has abilities for both; it's not recommended to go one-on-one.
Pinkie Pie's section was... interesting to write. It just came to me and I wrote her rant in one sitting, no thinking things twice required. Though I DID have a little trouble at the end, when using the awesome powers of music felt like the right thing to do. Pinkie wanted a song, but I was all 'rhyming is hard, now rhyming all the time and keeping some sort of rhythm is almost impossible for me'. Pinkie then suggested re-adapting an existing song, like 'Gypsy Bard' or 'Pinkie's Brew', but that's also beyond me.
At last, it was settled to go for inserting 'Smile, smile, smile' as-is.
The mishap with the WW was a compromise. Using the same gag as in the show felt OK, but I knew I could do better. Hence, Pinkie's impulse to make everyone around her smile made her forget that her song isn't long enough to preheat the oven, much less actually bake a cake.
Fortunately for her, cake in the wilderness is in short enough order that it doesn't matter. That, and Gem is so undiscerning when it comes to foodstuffs that she wouldn't care either way. (Her favorite activities are eating, anything music related, anything having to do with grooming herself or improving her appearance, cuddling or otherwise playing, and making things).
Pinkie is an easy character to write for; if it weren't for her tendency to go on a tangent, I'd have her speak more often. Oh, she's going to, but I meant even more so.
No, I do not know what Plan Nine entails beyond needing to catch a shooting star and that there is a 3-in-10 to 1-in-3 chance that Pinkie will fall through a window (or, less likely, Dash). Oh, and AJ likes it, but that's it, you'd have to ask Pinkie for details.
Twilight's letter was a spontaneous idea. I just thought 'Hey, if Twilight sent a letter to Celestia, her parents and Shiney+Cadence it would be huge!' And then I realized that that way I got to analyze my own character from an outsider's viewpoint. Heck, even I was surprised when Twilight considered psychological damage as a possibility (albeit a remote one). Even if she's wrong, she's not one to discard it unless it's proven completely wrong.
Plus, minor foreshadowing and comments.
Just so you know how characters themselves can change the course of the story, I wasn't planning on making this chapter about dragons, lest of all Spike. It happened anyways. Still, I got to give my justification for the 'dragons make hoards' element: They like to guard stuff and keep it. Kind of like a fifty-ton version of everyone's grandpa.
And Gem genuinely forgot she was going to take a bath to clean herself, not just out of personal enjoyment. Then again, when nearly all of your hygiene problems can be solved with a little concentration, you stop seeing showers and baths as a necessity and more like an excellent stress relief.
(Bonus points if you can guess what Rarity saw that Gem is embarrassed about.)
Remember, there are three letters, so it's up to you to decide who is this Savior of Stalliongrad. Is it the choice 'obvious' between Celestia or Shining Armor? Could it be... Cadence? Or dear mom and dad?
I am a little surprised to see Gem's reaction to being shown fear fit nicely inside the fanon ailment "Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome", it's like her personality was destined for ponies. It's one of the many surprises I keep finding! For example, I was also surprised when I was RP'ing with her as my character and got all serious when shown needless hostility - as opposed to heartbroken when shown baseless fear. Of course, there are many, many differences between her personality and the ponies' beyond her views on 'necessary violence'... they just haven't come into play yet.
Speaking of her making... she was originally based off some concepts from a number of RPG's, so it's only natural she's know a thing or two about fighting diverse creatures, as well as Status Ailments.
Rarity strikes me as being one though cookie. Captured by Diamond Dogs, being used as a blunt weapon against her own friends by a dragon, and what ends up bothering her? Her dress is ruined! Or, that they desperately need to take a shower, or any number of small (by comparison) details. Wow, Rares, you are a lady that takes the bull by the horns.
Twilight's observation at the end fits my reflections of 'Gemini'. I mean, chaos-powered, dark magic aligned, and... other things? Makes things hard for her.
Also, I'm aware dark magic has been introduced in MLP as... something else. For the context of this story, things are going to be a little different - Celestia understands that dark magic is dangerous, but admits to not knowing much about it.
That was one boring hell of confusion.
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON
IT'S PAIN TO READ BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND A FUCK